Behind The Mask
by destinyowldreamer
Summary: no one can go through life alone. not even a certain Sky Knight. it's time his team learned he's just a another kid like them.
1. Chapter 1

_**Behind The Mask**_

Chapter one

Aerrow walked down the hall of the Condor as quietly as he could hoping no one would notice him as he made his way to his room. But of course someone _had_ to notice him. Aerrow recognized the voices coming up behind him belonged to Finn and Junko. Sure they were his friends just like the rest of the Storm Hawks. But right now after fighting the Dark Ace _again_, answering three different distress signals, helping Finn fix his skimmer (when he said helping he meant doing all the work while Finn watched and made annoying comments) and stopping an argument between Finn and Piper he was tired and didn't want to talk to anybody.

"Hey Aerrow!" Finn called. The young Sky Knight rolled his eyes thinking _oh no…_ before turning to face his friends with another fake smile on his face. "Hi Finn, Junko. What do you need?" Finn smiled which was never a good sign. "Oh nothing. We were just wondering if you'd help us pull the ultimate prank of Piper! You know for a little revenge for her wrecking my CDs!" for a minute Aerrow just stared at him. He but his hands up in surrender. "Okay just wait. You want me to help you prank Piper after I just finished settling the argument between you to?" both Finn and Junko nodded enthusiastically. Aerrow shook his head at the ground. "Uh sorry but no." he said and before they could protest he added "guys its late. We should all just try to sleep before something else chaotic happens."

"You mean like it will tomorrow." Finn asked. Aerrow wanted to ignore him and go to his room but he was supposed to be the leader here. He turned back to the sharpshooter with the happy, optimistic expression he always used even though he hardly ever felt it. "Exactly. Good night." Without another word he turned the corner and hurried into his room.

As soon as the door closed he let the smile and positive look dissolve into a much more real sad and tired one. He glanced in his mirror and saw himself for what he really was. Just a sad tired boy. His messy red hair was in even more disarray than normal, his normally bright green eyes had lost their spark, he was pale and dark shadows danced under his eyes. He sat on his bed and let his head rest against the cool mettle of the wall. Radarr chattered in concern. "I'm fine Radarr." Aerrow reassured him. "Just tired." Radarr wasn't convinced. They had practically raised each other. Radarr could tell when Aerrow was holding something back. But he didn't press it. He could tell that Aerrow really was tired and rightfully so. When Aerrow eventually fell into a light and fitful sleep Radarr stayed awake by his side.

In was only two hours before Aerrow awoke to the sound of Stork screaming. Without a moment's hesitation the fourteen year old grabbed the twin energy blades he used as weapons and ran to the bridge. Radarr hurried out after him. As soon as he got to the bridge Aerrow could tell why the merb had been screaming. Ravess and her annoying violin players could be seen speeding towards them. "Stork look out!" Aerrow cried as Ravess fired one of her crystal tipped arrows at the glass. The merb didn't react fast enough. Aerrow dove at his feet knocking the pilot to the ground just as the window smashed. Aerrow helped Stork to his feet. "You okay?" he asked. Stork nodded and brushed himself off before returning to the controls. "We're doomed!"

Aerrow not wanting to wake his crew took to his skimmer with Radarr. They could do this with Stork flying the Condor they'd be fine. When Ravess saw they were alone she laughed. Notching three arrows at a time she aimed and fired. Luckily Aerrow saw them coming and spiraled out of the way. It was pelting with rain and he could hardly see two inches in front of him. Thunder and lightning boomed and harsh cold winds ripped around them. They couldn't stay out for long but then again neither could Ravess. "Okay Radarr." He said to his co-pilot. "All we need to do is out last her." The blue sky monkey nodded the affirmative.

Ravess fired arrow after arrow at them. One hit the wing of Aerrow's skimmer and for a scary minute they spiraled out of control before righting themselves and flying back up to meet her. Aerrow fired blue charges at her but she avoided them. Feeling her victory growing near Ravess began to close in for the kill before a loud bang was heard from the Condor. Junko or Finn, Aerrow didn't know who right now had managed to shoot Ravess out of the sky.

Aerrow and Radarr landed back on the Condor. The other Storm Hawks crowded around them. "Are you okay?" Piper asked looking at her rain soaked friend. "We heard the commotion and it looked like you could use some help." Aerrow summoned the little strength he had left and smiled. Another fake one. "I'm fine. Thanks for the help." Junko gave him the thumbs up, Finn was still asleep and Stork was busy flying the ship. Aerrow shivered and Piper put her arm around his shoulders. "You should probably get dried off before you get sick." She warned. "It's like midnight to so we should all get back to bed. We can do the repairs in the morning." Out of concern for their Sky Knight Junko, Piper and Radarr guided Aerrow back to his room. "Thanks guys." He said with a weak smile. "Good night."

Once he was back in bed and was asleep again Radarr still stayed by his side. He pulled the blanket higher around the boy's shoulders. In a way Radarr felt privileged. He was the only one who ever saw Aerrow like this. Everyone had high expectations of him. Aerrow was the son of the leader of the original Storm Hawks, Aerrow was the leader of the new Storm Hawks, Aerrow was a Sky Knight, Aerrow would end the war, Aerrow would always save the day. But the truth was Aerrow was all those things and he would do those things but he was still a kid. And he needed his friends to realize it.


	2. Chapter two

Chapter two

The next morning Aerrow did something that was very out of character. He slept in. by the time he woke up light was streaming in through the window and judging by how high the sun was in the sky it had been up for a while. He sat up and rubbed sleep out of his eyes before noticing that Radarr was missing from his normal place beside him. A sure sign he had been sleeping for a while. When he was ready Aerrow made his way to the bridge where he assumed the others probably were.

He frowned at the headache that was growing worse and worse. Fighting it down he managed to wipe the pain and discomfort from his features before entering the room. "Hey Aerrow." Junko said distractedly from where he sat on the couch reading a book. The glasses he was wearing making his gray eyes look huge. Finn looked up from polishing his crossbow. "Huh. Nice of you to show up." Now Aerrow was confused. "What?" Radarr scurried to his place on his boy's shoulder and gave him a worried look. Piper placed a dark skinned hand on his shoulder. Her orange eyes alight with concern. "Aerrow it's like two in the afternoon. Are you okay?"

Aerrow rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah I'm fine. Sorry about sleeping in." Piper smiled. "Hey it's okay. I can't remember the last time you slept in. Everyone's allowed to do it sometimes." As if sensing a comment coming from Finn, Piper put her hand up in a silencing gesture. "And no Finn. You don't count." Finn shut his mouth and deflated looking like a wounded puppy.

Just then Stork said "distress call! Coming from the Terra right below us!" they all let out a collective groan. They knew what Terra was beneath them. And more importantly they knew who was sending the distress call. "Looks like we'll be visiting out number one fan again." Finn chimed. A few weeks ago the Storm Hawks had met their number one fan Noob. It was still funny how much that name actually fit. He had converted to being the Absolute Zeros number one fan when he had lost his Storm Hawks things in a fight with Ravess and her fiddle playing goons. Recently he had gone back to being the Storm Hawks number one fan when the Piper action figure had finally come out.

"Do we really have to?" Junko complained. Aerrow gave him a sympathetic look. "Come on Junko." He said. "You know none of us want to but he might actually be in trouble this time." Aerrow turned back to Stork. "Stork. Take us down." The carrier pilot sighed before doing what his leader asked. "We're doomed."

Turns out there wasn't actually any trouble. Noob just wanted the Storm Hawks to visit him. As they exited the Condor Finn whispered to Aerrow "from now on we seriously need to stop passing over this Terra." For once in his life the young Sky Knight had to agree with the blond haired sharpshooter.

As usual Noob was excited to see them and was eager to show Piper the new action figure. Aerrow stayed a little ways behind the others. The headache was starting to get harder and harder to ignore. He put his hand to his head in an attempt to keep the pain at bay. Unfourtanetly for him the worst person possible to notice Aerrow's pain was the _only_ person who noticed his pain. "Uh Aerrow?" Noob asked a weird combination look of excitement, awe and concern scribbled all over his face. "Are you okay?"

Aerrow tried hard for a smile. "I'm okay." He said even though he was lying through his teeth. While the others were arguing about Piper's action figure Noob the most annoying Storm Hawks fan in all of the Atmos was the first one to see his hero in real pain. "What happened?" Noob asked with enthusiasm at the idea of getting to hear about a real Storm Hawks adventure. "Look Noob." Aerrow said really not wanting to talk about this now. "Everything's fine. We just ran into Ravess last night." If anything now Noob looked even more worried. "So what happened?" he pressed. "Did you fall or something?" Aerrow shook his head which was probably a bad idea because it proved to just make his headache worse. "It's just a headache Noob. I'm just tired."

Noob looked a little hurt at first but then put a steadying hand on Aerrow's arm. "Maybe it'd be a good idea if you and the others left then if you're not feeling good." Aerrow smiled weakly. "Thanks Noob. We'll see you later."

That night they sat in various places aboard the Condor. Aerrow made an excuse to leave and hid in his room. The headache had only gotten worse. Radarr curled at his side Aerrow tried to go to sleep and after a while he did. Only to be plagued by nightmares filled with Ravess, Snipe, Master Cyclonis, the Dark Ace and for some reason Domiwick the irritating and pompous explorer.

Radarr could tell his friend was having nightmares and let out a small distressed whine. All he could do was stay with Aerrow and try to keep calm and carry on.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

By the next morning Aerrow had a fever. The headache had only gotten worse, his skin was burning, his hair was plastered to his head with sweat and his voice sounded like gravel being ground together. Radarr hurried into the room with a bowl of cold water and a cloth. Aerrow let Radarr fuss over him for about five minutes before forcing himself to get up. Radarr squawked in protest. "I'll be fine Radarr." Aerrow tried to make it sound convincing but it was hard when he had to break off to start coughing. Radarr put his hands on his hips and scowled. Aerrow had to smile. If nothing else Radarr was stubborn. "Okay fine." Aerrow said finally giving in. "I'll take it easy. No skimmer rides and no dangerous missions. Happy?" Radarr gave him the thumbs up. Aerrow laughed before breaking off into another coughing fit.

Aerrow washed the sweat off his face and tried not to look sick before heading to the bridge. Piper and Stork were the only other ones up which gave Aerrow some comfort knowing that he hadn't slept in that late again. "Morning Aerrow." Piper said from where she was leaning against the railing writing in her squadron log. "Hey Piper, Stork." Stork waved over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the horizon from where he stood flying the ship. "Are Finn or Junko up yet?" the Sky Knight asked as he sat down. Piper joined him and rolled her eyes. "What those to? They wouldn't wake up if we were being attacked by Master Cyclonis, Snipe, Ravess, the Dark Ace, Murk Raiders, Chicken Feathers, (as they had taken to calling the Talon Commander) the Leviathan and Sky Sirens. Couldn't you hear them snoring from your room?" Aerrow gave her a look. "That's a little harsh." She shrugged. "The truth hurts."

Okay so Piper was in a mood this morning. Aerrow winced as another coughing fit threatened and he coughed twice hoarsely. Radarr was at his side in an instant. Even Stork glanced over his shoulder at his leader. "Aerrow?" Piper asked concern lacing her voice. "Are you okay?" Aerrow barely heard her. Darkness threatened his vision. He blinked as his eye sight cleared. "I…I'm fine." He managed coughing a little more. Piper looked skeptical. "That doesn't sound like nothing Aerrow." He shrugged her hand off his shoulder. "It's a cough Piper. I think I'll live." She frowned but didn't press the matter further.

They sat in silence for a while before Piper finally said "you know you can tell us anything." He looked up at her in surprise. She continued "you don't have to keep things from me." he noticed how she said 'me' that time and not 'us' like she had before. "Thanks Piper." He said giving her another pain hiding smile. "But I'm okay. Really." Before either of them could say more Finn walked onto the bridge with a yawning Junko close behind. "So!" he said making Aerrow wince at the loud noise. He already had a headache and Finn wasn't helping. "Who's up for some training games?" Stork sighed as if resigning himself to his fate. Piper noticed how Aerrow seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Not today Finn." She said. The sharpshooter's shoulders slumped and he groaned. "Awww…." He turned to Aerrow. "How about you Aerrow? Wanna do some target practice?" Junko joined in enthusiastically. "Or we could do 'catch the Sky Knight' again!" 'Catch the Sky Knight' was a game Finn had invented a long time ago when they were little kids on Terra Neverlandis. One of them was the Sky Knight (usually Aerrow) and the others were the Cyclonians who would be trying to catch the Sky Knight. It was great for evasive maneuvering practice. "Sorry guys." He said. "Like Piper said, not today."

Finn and Junko wandered off grumbling about why they couldn't be more fun or something. Aerrow headed to the skimmer bay to work on fixing his skimmer's wing from where Ravess had hit it. As he worked he tried to ignore the sweat that was starting to bead on his forehead and the pounding in his head. He coughed painfully, trying to focus on his work. It was getting hard to breathe and he found himself on the verge of passing out. He set down the wrench he was using and put his hand to his head. He stood up using his skimmer for support and swayed on his feet.

He made his way outside hoping the fresh air would make him feel better. He leaned against the railing as the wind blew through his hair cooling him down. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the nausea die down. His green eyes closed and he let his feverish mind be calm. That was until he opened his eyes again only to see a squadron of Talons led by none other than the Dark Ace himself.

Aerrow was sick, he was tired, he had a headache and he was just really annoyed. He had fought the Dark Ace so many freaking times and he was just done. "Really?" he looked up at the sky as if expecting an answer. "Okay dad. Now would be a good time for some help." Apparently Lighting Strike wasn't in a listening mood. "Oh perfect." Aerrow muttered.

**A/N: hey everybody. I know somebody's reading this! Special thanks to OneForSorrow333 and FoodAndWifi I really appreciate you guys favoriteing my story but I would really like to get some reviews! I want to know what you think! Anybody who's reading this is capable of reviewing so please do it! Any suggestions or requests for oncoming chapters would be great! Please and thank you! Bye!**


	4. Chapter four

Chapter four

So the Dark Ace was attacking. Yay. Strangely enough the only thought that went through Aerrow's mind as he ran to tell his friends was _here we go again…._ "Guys!" he called as he ran onto the bridge but they had already seen the approaching threat. Finn and Junko were already headed for their skimmers. "Stork take the Condor below the clouds for some cover." Aerrow ordered. Stork saluted and Piper and Aerrow made for their skimmers. Radarr didn't look happy as he hopped onto his cockpit but didn't argue. He knew what had to be done but that didn't mean he had to like it.

While Piper, Finn and Junko attacked the Talons Aerrow and Radarr took on the Dark Ace. The Dark Ace stood on the wing of his skimmer with his sword out and a cruel smile on his face. Aerrow narrowed his eyes and copied his ready position. "This time no mercy." He could hear the Dark Ace saying. Aerrow couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had lost count of how many times his enemy and said that. He was pretty sure the Dark Ace said something else to but he wasn't in the mood to exchange banter. He could already feel sweat starting to form on his forehead again. He coughed and blinked trying to keep his eyes open. His grip slackened on his blades for a minute before tightening again.

Unfourtanetly the Dark Ace saw his slip up and looked honestly surprised before sliding back to his cruel smile. He had come at a good time. Aerrow was weak. His defenses would be weaker as well giving the Dark Ace the perfect chance to end the Sky Knight once and for all. Radarr squawked in concern. Aerrow shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "I'm okay." He called back to his friend. Now Radarr wasn't only concerned he was also scared.

As soon as they were close enough the Dark Ace started firing red energy charges at them. Radarr steered them out of the way every time and Aerrow returned fire. Aerrow and the Dark Ace locked blades but Aerrow was under the weight of the attack and he could feel himself straining. "I have to say I'm disappointed in you Aerrow." The Dark Ace said. Aerrow glared and pushed harder. "I thought you'd put up more of a fight!" the Dark Ace kicked Aerrow hard and he was sent flying off of the skimmer. Thinking he had won the Dark Ace smiled and sheathed his sword. Then a somewhat hoarse voice said "I could say the same about you."

The Dark Ace whipped around just in time to see the wings of Aerrow's battle glider refolding themselves. Before he could react Aerrow was preparing the Lighting Claw. His signature move. A blue aura surrounded him and his eyes burned with aqua marine flames and the ghostly wings were the last thing the Dark Ace saw before being knocked off the skimmer.

Aerrow landed and fell off the skimmer's wing his eyes already closing. The Dark Ace had deployed his parachute and watched angrily as Aerrow fell then was caught by his sky monkey co-pilot.

When they landed back onboard the Condor Aerrow forced his eyes open and sat up with a tired grunt. Piper, Finn and Junko landed as well and hurried over to him. "Are you okay Aerrow?" Junko asked in concern helping him to his feet then catching him as he swayed. Finn held him up from the other side and Piper put her hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked. "I'm fine." Aerrow told them "the Dark Ace is gone. For now."

"Aerrow?" Finn asked "you don't look so good." Piper nodded her agreement (it was always surprising when Piper actually agreed with Finn on anything) "Maybe you should go rest for a little while." She suggested. He shook his head stubbornly making Radarr sigh and roll his eyes in annoyance. "I'll be fine." He insisted. Piper was going to argue be he gave them all a look that reminded them Aerrow was in charge here. What he said goes. No argument.

Even so Piper, Junko, Finn, Radarr and even Stork sent their leader worried looks for the rest of the day. Something was wrong. Even Finn could tell that much. What wasn't he telling them?

If only they knew just how much he really wasn't telling them.

**A/N: hey guys I'm back with another chapter! Thank you so much to OneForSorrow333 for being my first ever reviewer! Please keep reviewing and everyone else to! If you have any suggestions, ideas or requests for the next chapters! I'd be happy to hear them! Oh and I'm entering my first ever writing contest this weekend so wish me luck! I'll try to update another chapter as soon as I can! Review! It makes writing easier. Bye for now!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

**A/N: I thought I'd start this chapter off with an author's note this time. Thank you so much to OneForSorrow333 once again for reviewing! Oh and to my new follower DarkWin (times symbol) Girl sorry but there isn't a times symbol on my key board. Please keep reviewing! I tried to get this chapter out as soon as I could! This's for you guys! Enjoy!**

A few days later and Aerrow was finally starting to feel better. He started to smile real smiles more often which made Radarr feel better. So far nothing had happened today and it seemed like they might have some peace and quiet for once. Which meant everything was about to go to pieces. Aerrow was thrown against the window of the bridge along with Radarr and Piper as the angry horde of sky sharks rammed into the ship again. Finn came running out of his room, crossbow in hand. "What's happening?!" he asked franticly looking around. "Are we under attack?" Junko who was standing across from him sneezed as his allergies to sky sharks kicked in again. Finn was blown across the bridge to hit the glass next to Aerrow, Radarr and Piper.

"Oh." He groaned as he slid to the ground. Aerrow helped Piper to her feet. "Stork get us out of here!" he cried. "Uh…right." The carrier pilot said before pulling the controls down and banking hard to port. But the sky sharks weren't going to give up that easily. They gave chase. Aerrow sighed. _Here we go again._ "Hard to starboard!" he yelled, Stork nodded and swerved in the other direction. "How do we get rid of them?" Piper gasped, grabbing onto a railing so she wouldn't slam into the window again.

Aerrow was trying to think but with the slight headache that still plagued him, Junko's sneezing that was loud enough to cause anyone to go completely deaf, Radarr's fearful shrieks and Finn's girly screaming it wasn't easy. "What's the Terra closest to us?" he asked as Stork righted the Condor. "Umm…" Piper muttered as she gathered her maps and laid them out on the table. She pointed to a small Terra and her orange eyes widened. "Piper?" Aerrow asked starting to get worried. It wasn't Cyclonia….was it? "Neverlandis…" she whispered. Finn leaned in after peeling himself off the window. "What was that?" Piper straightened up but the look of shock and….was that homesickness's? Remained on her face. "Terra Neverlandis."

Instantly silence over took them. Even Junko's sneezing had stopped. "W…What?" Aerrow asked. "Home…" Finn whispered. "That's the place where I met you guys." Junko added. "Is that the first place we saved?" Stork asked looking over Piper's shoulder at her map. "Yeah." Aerrow answered. "And it looks like we'll be going back there." Stork set the course and they spread out on the bridge trying to avoid the sky sharks that followed them. Piper stood next to Aerrow. "I can't believe we're really going back." She said so softly he barely heard her.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on." He said. "You can't tell me that you've never thought about going h… back." He had to stop himself from saying home. That place was no longer their home now that they were the Storm Hawks but….still. "You're probably right." She admitted. He tried for a smile even though he knew it was a weak attempt. He was scared to.

As soon as they landed Aerrow, Radarr, Finn and Piper were headed up the path to the old fort. Junko and Stork kept their respective distance knowing how much this place had meant to their friends. They felt like intruders here. The four friends climbed over the gate just like they had so many times when they were younger. Finn hugged his old mud blaster with a big smile on his face. "It's so good to see you!" he said to the mud blaster as if expecting a response. Piper wanted to check out her old map room Aerrow, Finn and Radarr had built her for a twelfth birthday present. That left Aerrow and Radarr to see the old house. As soon as they stepped inside the memories were almost too overwhelming.

Above the fire place there were all of the pictures of them together. There was one of Finn falling out of a tree and Aerrow stepping out of the way as he landed not even trying to catch him, of Aerrow looking totally confused as Finn and Radarr lay fast asleep in their seats as Piper went on and on about something to do with crystals, one of Aerrow looking annoyed as Finn ran into him and they both ended up on the ground with Radarr laughing at them, the boys trying and failing to put up the Storm Hawks flag, Aerrow trying not to gag as he bathed a disgustedly dirty Radarr while Finn stood off to the side with a nose plug on holding a long scrub brush so he could still help without having to get to close, Aerrow, Piper and Radarr killing themselves laughing as Finn shot the Cyclonian youth brigade that was always causing them so much trouble out of the sky and finally a group shot of all four of them standing in front of the fort with their arms around each other. Radarr was hanging off Aerrow's back like he normally did and they could see the Storm Hawks flag flying behind them.

On another shelf across the room were the crystals Piper had found over the years that she hadn't bothered to bring with them when they had left. That kind of figured considering the fact that most of them were duds anyways. Lying on a chair exactly where he had left it was Finn's old sling shot. Resting on a pillow was a blue book with the Storm Hawks symbol on it. Aerrow picked it up and opened it to the first page. They were all journal entries from Aerrow's father Lighting Strike and the other original Storm Hawks. Aerrow flicked through the book until he came to the last entry by his father. It read:

_October 19. Today is the day we fight Cyclonia in the battle that will decide the fate of the Atmos as we know it. We've managed to join together all the Sky Knight Squadrons but now I'm expected to lead them. What if I lead them wrong? They're counting on me and I can't let them down. But I'm worried for another reason. My son was born today. His name's Aerrow. I don't know if I'll ever be able to see him though. That's why I'm writing this now. With the hope that if I don't come back one day he'll find this and know that I love him. And that I tried to win for him and his mother. I hope he knows that. One day he'll lead the Storm Hawks and become a Sky Knight. If we don't succeed then I know he will. I hope he remembers who he is and never forgets me. I love you Aerrow. – Lighting Strike._

Aerrow tucked the book under his arm and left. Radarr hurried after him clutching Finn's slingshot and one of Piper's crystals that wasn't a dud. Both Piper and Finn were happy to see the things Radarr presented them with.

Back onboard the Condor Piper came up to Aerrow. "What did you find?" she asked gesturing to the book he still held. He handed it to her. "Just some journal entries my dad and his team made." She flipped through it before handing it back. "Nice." He smiled.

That night Aerrow and Radarr sat together reading the journal entries. No one besides Radarr would ever know how much that little book actually meant to his boy.

**A/N: so? How did I do? Review! Please? The guy from the writing competion just called and I can go tomorrow but I think he's going to be surprised when I show up and am under age 14! I hope he doesn't tell me I'm too young. Anyways I would love some suggestions and/or requests for the next few chapters! Don't worry I won't frown on any of your ideas. I promise. Bye for now!**


	6. Chapter six

Chapter six

**A/N: hi. Guess what I did today. I quit school. Just kidding! But I am going to a different school. I'll be homeschooling from now on. I have to admit I cried a lot. Stupid girl emotions… anyways! I wrote in the writing contest and I was by far the youngest person there. Seriously the youngest person there besides me was probably at least seven years older than me. They all looked really surprised when I walked in. they looked like "what is this kid doing here?" oh and I'm the youngest person to ever do it. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Anyways on with the chapter!**

It was the screaming that woke Aerrow that morning. His eyes shot open and he sat up so quickly the blanket fell onto Radarr who had been about to wake him up. He was about to ask what was going on when the Condor tilted drastically to the side. Aerrow was thrown across the room along with Radarr. They hit the wall hard and for a minute the Sky Knight's vision blurred. He shook his head to clear it. "Radarr you okay?" he asked helping his friend to his feet. Radarr looked dizzy but shook it off and gave him the thumbs up. Without wasting any more time Aerrow grabbed his blades in case they were under attack and ran to the bridge. The ship was spinning out of control by the time he got there. Stork was at the helm trying to right the ship before they crashed. Junko was holding onto Piper, Finn and the railing to keep them from sliding around.

Radarr kept a death grip on Aerrow's shoulder the whole time making distressed noises. Aerrow grabbed the railing and made his way slowly to his friends. "What happened?" he asked as he caught the arm Junko offered to him. "The engine's malfunctioning!" Junko explained. "Something's wrong with the power crystals!" Aerrow's eyes widened. The last time something like this had happened they had ended up in the Black Gorge! "How long can we stay up?" he asked. Stork looked over his shoulder with huge terrified eyes. "We can't!" and just like that the Condor dropped like a stone.

No one could hold on to anything and they were all sent tumbling head over heels. The ship spun and flipped upside down. Radarr never let go of his boy. Aerrow tried to catch the railing but missed on his first try. He lunged for it again and this time caught it. Piper slid by looking terrified. He grabbed her hand. "Hold on!" he cried trying to pull her up beside him. Finn fell next to Piper and she caught a hold of him. Aerrow winced as the weight on his arm increased but he didn't let go. He couldn't let them down. He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut and pulled them up. Piper first, followed closely by Finn. Piper managed to grab the railing next to Aerrow and helped pull Finn up as well. Aerrow opened his eyes and gasped trying to catch his breath. His arm burned but he was glad Piper and Finn were okay. Junko had caught Stork and was holding onto another railing across from them.

Aerrow could see the approaching Terra below them and was thankful that he recognized it as Terra Blizzaris. Blizzaris had been evacuated a few months ago so there was no one living there besides little creatures called Leapers but hopefully they wouldn't hit any. As the snowy landscape drew closer Aerrow, Radarr, Piper and Finn embraced each other in a sort of protective group hug. Junko and Stork did the same. And they crashed.

Piper was the first one to open her eyes after the crash. She groaned and sat up rubbing her head. She blinked to clear her vision and looked around her. Her ankle hurt and when she tried to move a sharp pain shot through her leg but other then that her injuries were only scrapes and bruises. She realized she was clutching Radarr close to her and quickly let him go. She was glad to see that the sky monkey didn't seem to be hurt and had instantly started roaming around, looking for their friends. Piper saw Junko get to his feet and shake his head. He helped Stork up who seemed to be alright escept for the fact that he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. That's when she saw what really scared her. A pile of rubble and mettal was stacked near the wall. a limp hand could be seen underneath it. "Finn!" she cried, rushing over even though her ankle flared with pain. Junko helped her clear the rubble away. Finn sat up on his own which was always a good sign. his arm was bleeding and looked bent at a slightly strange angle but other then that he seemed fine. "Are you okay?" Piper asked.

"Yeah." The sharpshooter said and Junko helped him to his feet. Finn cradled his arm but when he looked up at them his blue eyes widened. "Where's Aerrow?" he asked. "Over here." A voice said from behind them. Aerrow was pushing himself off the ground next to a wall he had clearly crashed into. His nose was bleeding badly and he wasn't moving his left arm. They hurried to their leader's side but Radarr beat them by a long shot. He clung to his boy like Aerrow was a life line and Radarr was drowning. The Sky Knight winced as the motion jostled his arm but he smiled weakly and gave his best friend a one arm hug. Piper crawled to his side with concern scribbled all over her face. The others joined them on the ground. "Is everyone okay?" Aerrow asked, his eyes searching each of them for injuries. "We're okay." Junko said. "Are you okay?" Finn asked.

Aerrow pushed himself to his feet shakily, ignoring them when they tried to help. "Stork, what's the damage?" he asked. The merb hurried to the windows so he could see. The glass was broken pretty badly in places and the ship was trashed. "Nothing we can't fix." He assured them. "But it could take some time. And the heat coils are broken." It didn't take a genius to figure out that was bad. They were stuck on a frozen Terra, their ship was trashed, some of them were hurt and they didn't have heating. Joy to the world.

"Can we send out a distress signal?" Aerrow asked. Junko checked the com gear. "That would be a no." he said "the com gears over heated." They all stared at him. "Wait." Finn said. "We're stuck on Terra Blizzaris. The coldest Terra in the Atmos, the heater's busted and you're telling us the com gear's over _heated_?" Junko nodded and Finn face palmed. "We better get started." Aerrow added. Piper insisted that they take care of themselves first. Stork cleaned and bandaged Finn's arm while Piper tried to help Aerrow.

"I'll be fine Piper." He said. "We should take care of your ankle first." She rolled her eyes. "Aerrow, your shoulder's worse than my ankle. So shut up and let me help you." He gave her a look but she pretended not to notice it. "It's dislocated." She announced then cringed. There was only one member of the Storm Hawks who knew how to reset a shoulder. "Stand back." Aerrow said. She complied and watched as he took a deep breath and set his own shoulder. He winced and grit his teeth but he had done it. Piper bandaged an instant ice pack to it and put it in a sling. He gave her a weak smile and she returned it. He helped her splint her sprained ankle and found a crutch in a supply closet for her to use.

Finn wore a sling just like Aerrow's. For the rest of the day they worked to repair the ship. Junko had his hands full in the engine room, Piper worked to repair the damaged power crystals, Stork tended to the controls while Finn and Aerrow patched up holes they found in the ship's flank. By the time night crept over the sky they were all cold, wet and miserable but at least they had gotten some work done. Maybe they could fix the ship and get off the Terra in a few days. If they were lucky.

They all slept together on the bridge trying not to freeze to death. Even after the others had fallen asleep Aerrow stayed awake. He stared out the window watching snow fall gently. His arm hurt and he had to admit he was worried. This was a bad situation. A really bad one. They could repair the ship sure but how long could they last there? They weren't Blizzarians! They weren't meant to survive in ice and snow. But there was no way the Storm Hawks were going down without a fight.

**A/N: yeah, yeah I know. Weak ending but hey I'm running out of ideas here! I have so few ideas I had to make them crash somewhere! I would love some suggestions or requests! Please? Anyways thank you to art chic 99 and AerrowsWifeFinnsSister! But still OneForSorrow333 is the only one who's reviewed! Please review! I'm not going to update again if there aren't any new reviews you know. I need to know that you guys are still interested in my story. Bye.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

**A/N: wow. You guys really took what I said to heart. I got a whole bunch of new reviews! So I'm just going to make a list of everyone I want to thank. Thank you to OneForSorrow333, art chic 99, cocosnowlo, DarkWin (times symbol) Girl, FoodAndWifi and AerrowsWifeFinnsSister. You guys really help me. You see I'm a depressed person and I constantly let people down. You guys show me that I'm doing at least one thing right. Thank you. I have to admit I'm crying right now. This is for you guys.**

Aerrow was trying to hammer a dent out of the side of the Condor with one hand when he heard Radarr squawking. He sounded distressed so of course the Sky Knight dropped everything he was doing and ran to the other side of the ship. He stopped dead in his tracks with a look of confusion on his face. Finn was stuck to the side of the ship by his tongue that seemed to be frozen to the cold metal. Radarr was trying desperately to free him. The sharpshooter put up one finger like he was going to try and explain what was going on but Aerrow stopped him by putting up his hand in surrender. "Do I even want to know?" he asked putting his hand on his hip since the other one was still in a sling.

"Pwabably Nawt." Finn mumbled, his voice sounding funny because of the fact that his tongue was stuck to the side of a huge metal air ship. That would make it hard for anyone to talk. Even Finn. Aerrow helped pry his friend off the side of the ship and all three of them ended up in a heap in the snow. Aerrow glared up at Finn from the bottom of the pile. Finn gave him a big nervous smile. Aerrow went back to working on the other side of the ship. They were making good progress. They could probably be off the Terra in a few more days which was good because Aerrow was starting to worry about Finn's arm injury being exposed to the cold so much. Unlike Aerrow and Piper's wounds Finn's was an open wound. He didn't want anyone getting frostbite.

Aerrow shielded his eyes from the glare coming from the sun on the snow and gazed up at the frozen ice volcano Piper and the Sky Knight of Blizzaris; Suzie-Lu had stopped with a Blizzard Crystal. He shivered and frowned as it began snowing again. When it snowed on Blizzaris it was never only a little. The snowflakes began to get bigger and bigger and Aerrow knew what was coming. His green eyes widened in alarm. "Everyone inside now!" he shouted running to the door and grabbing Finn and Radarr on his way. He didn't have to explain what was going on to his friends, they already knew. "Batten down the hatches!" Stork cried. They all ran around (Piper limped) sealing off all exit points and entries. They gathered on the bridge and peeked out the window as a huge blanket of snow was built up until it reached half way up the Condor. They were snowed in. Again. Great.

They had been on this stupid Terra for three days and it had never failed to completely dump snow and ice. There was nothing more they could do now. Finn slumped on the couch next to Junko. Stork and Piper sat at the table. They all looked depressed. Even Radarr hung his head in misery. Aerrow wanted to sit there with them and give in to his own despair to but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to keep everyone else going. As soon as he thought that he rolled his eyes. It was the Great Expanse all over again. Yay. He put his hand on Piper's shoulder but he addressed all of them when he spoke. "Come on guys." They all looked up. "We've survived worse than this! We can pull through! You can't give up! Storm Hawks never give up, remember?" their silence discouraged him until Junko said "Aerrow's right! We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves!" Finn nodded, a small smile starting to make its way across his face. "Yeah! It could be worse. We could be stuck on Terra Bogaton with the Raptors!"

"Or the Wastelands." Stork piped in helpfully although a hint of doom could be heard in his tone. Piper smiled. "And hey. She said. "At least here there are no Sky Sirens, Talons, crazy fans, nuts producers, or Leviathans." They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing about their weird, crazy and sometimes kind of creepy adventures.

That night Aerrow lay awake again trying to ignore Finn muttering in his sleep about girls or his air guitar. He stared out the window into the snow filled night sky. It was weird how much he missed flying after only three days but hey. Flying was in his blood. It always had been and always would be. Something he had inherited from his father.

**A/N: okay so kind of a short chapter but oh well. In the next chapter they will get off of Terra Blizzaris so don't worry. Nobody's going to freeze to death! I'm not that mean. And guess what! I'm not crying anymore! Writing always makes me feel better. Review! Please? Bye for now!**


	8. Chapter eight

Chapter eight

It was safe to say that no one was sad to see Terra Blizzaris fading away into the distance behind them. They had spent enough time there to last them a life time. They had finished making the repairs earlier that day and hadn't wasted any time getting the heck out of there. Aerrow wandered through the hallways off the Condor until he found himself on the deck. He leaned against the railing and stared up at the stars, relieved not to see snow falling. Radarr appeared behind him and clambered up onto his shoulder and for a minute they both had a feeling of familiarity. They used to do this kind of a thing all the time when they were orphans growing up together. Even though being a Sky Knight and being a part of the Storm Hawks was pretty cool Aerrow had to admit he kind of missed those days.

That's when it happened. Out of nowhere a Nightcrawler was there standing in front of them. Radarr squawked in alarm and Aerrow stumbled back in shock. Before either of them could react the Nightcrawler grabbed Radarr who screeched in distress before the Nightcrawler hit Aerrow with a crystal blast that sent him sprawling on his back half way across the deck. The Nightcrawler deployed its own kind of battle glider and flew away. Radarr still clutched in its arms. Hearing the commotion the other Storm Hawks raced to the deck but they were too late. The Nightcrawler and Radarr were already just small dots on the horizon. Finn and Junko helped Aerrow up. The Sky Knight barely registered that they were there. Seeing how Radarr wasn't there they figured out what had happened pretty quickly.

"I…Is Radarr….gone?" Piper asked, fear evident in her voice. Aerrow didn't hear her. He gazed out at the open sky still in shock of what had just happened. Finn put a hand on Aerrow's shoulder. "We'll get him back." He said, trying hard for a smile. "Radarr's tough. He'll be okay." Aerrow wished he could believe them but his friend's words fell on deaf ears. Radarr was gone. There would be no getting him back. No! He couldn't afford to think like that! Radarr was a friend to all of them and Aerrow couldn't stay trapped in his own private misery. "Stork, get us to Cyclonia. Now." he commanded, his voice sounded much harsher then he intended it to but Stork didn't seem to mind. He saluted and hurried back inside. Piper, Junko and Finn tried to talk to their Sky Knight but he just told them he was fine and that he knew they would get Radarr back.

Eventually Aerrow managed to escape his friends and hid in his room. As soon as the door was closed he fell to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried hard not to let the tears come. They did anyways. For the first time in seven years Aerrow cried. He cried silently so none of his friends would hear him. He collapsed to the floor on his side trying to breathe and stop the flow of tears. After a while he tried to push himself up but his arms failed him. He had stopped crying but he felt like he was dreaming. He stared up at the ceiling then his eyes drifted to the wall where he had put up photos of his friends. There were pictures that he brought from Neverlandis, a picture of Finn and Junko and a picture of his friend Dove from Terra Gale but there wasn't one of Radarr.

Aerrow closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Eyes still closed he used his arms to push himself to his knees and then to his feet. He opened his eyes again and slid the drawer of his little dresser open to revel a photo of Radarr clinging to his shoulder. They couldn't have been much older than ten in the picture. Aerrow used a piece of tape to stick it to the wall next to Dove's picture. He smiled sadly at it but realized that if he had, had the strength to get up then he could have the strength to keep going. He looked out his tiny window and his sad expression changed to one of determination. He would get Radarr back. He had to.

**A/N: hey guys. They got of Terra Blizzaris! Yay! Only to run straight into yet another problem! Boo! Oh well. I'm still not really sure why the Nightcrawler kidnapped Radarr but like I said before I'm running out of ideas! Anyone feeling sorry for Aerrow yet? If there's anything at all that you guys would like to see happen please tell me! Oh and just a heads up the next chapter probably will take a few days to get posted because I'm crazy busy this weekend. Please review! Bye for now!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

**A/N: hey guys I'm back with another chapter! I'm doing a craft fair on Saturday and me and my mom just spent like two hours making some really last minute crafts and the whole time we talked about what I should write in this chapter so this is what we came up with. Sort of. Enjoy!**

Much to Aerrow's annoyance they had to stop on Terra Saharr to refuel. They were wasting time when they should be out looking for Radarr! Aerrow, Piper and Finn waited outside the Condor while Stork and Junko refueled. "Do you really think that Nightcrawler took Radarr back to Cyclonia?" Finn asked after a while of silence. Aerrow wanted to turn around and slap the sharpshooter across the face while shouting _duh!_ But instead he just shrugged. "It's our best lead. We know the Nightcrawlers are working for Cyclonis. But why would they take Radarr?" Aerrow nearly had a heart attack when a strangely high voice said "probably for the same reason they took Burner." Aerrow, Piper and Finn whirled around to come to face to face with Blister, the Sky Knight of the Third Degree Burners. The Sky Knight Squadron of Terra Saharr.

Blister and Blaze were there but Burner was missing. "You mean Burner was kidnapped too?" Piper asked, her hand going to her mouth. Blister nodded. "Do you know why Radarr and Burner were taken?" Aerrow asked. Again Blister nodded. "We've heard that one member of each Sky Knight Squadron throughout the whole Atmos has been taken prisoner. It seems to be by random though. They don't seem to be going after anyone in particular. Just the first one they can get their slimy little hands on." The three Storm Hawks listened intently (yes even Finn, hard to believe I know) as the remaining Third Degree Burners explained how Cyclonis wanted the remaining members of every squadron to meet her on Cyclonia. She promised that their friends would not be harmed. In other words….it practically screamed LIE DETECTED! LIE DETECTED! WARNING! WARNING! But of course they were going to go anyways.

"Do you know who's been taken from what squadron?" Finn asked. Blaze answered this time. "Yeah. From the Red Eagles they've got someone called Steven, Dove of the Rebel Ducks, Billy-Rex from the Absolute Zeroes, Jenny the Rex Guardian, Scarlet of the Screaming Queens, Angus from the Neck Deeps, Kyra the Inferno Dweller, Malcolm of the Desert Birds, Tyler from the Buff Buzzards, Radarr from you, the Storm Hawks and Burner from us Third Degree Burners."

With their new knowledge they headed back to the Condor where Stork and Junko were waiting. After explaining what they had found out and what they were going to do Stork set their course for Cyclonia. Aerrow was in the skimmer bay fixing the wing of his skimmer where some screws were starting to come loose. He glared as he worked. He didn't trust Cyclonis in the least. What if this was a trap and Radarr and the others had already been hurt or worse killed? Was he leading his team to their deaths? What if he was? What then? It was a risk they all had to take to get their friends back. There was no turning back now, not like they would anyways.

Stork's doom filled voice came over the com gear. "We've reached Cyclonia and most defenatly our certain and horrible deaths will soon follow." Aerrow had to roll his eyes. Same old Stork. At least something felt normal around here. They mounted their skimmers, even Stork climbed into his Storkmobile. Finn had nicknamed it the Dorkmobile. No one said a word as they rode out of the safety of their ship and onto Cyclonia.

The other Sky Knight Squadrons from all over the Atmos were gathering at the base of Cyclonis's tower like castle. They stopped in-between the Rex Guardians and the Rebel Ducks. Even though Dove's grandfather Wren wasn't a member of the Rebel Ducks he was there as well to get his granddaughter back. Cyclonis herself walked out on a balcony above them to stand behind a microphone so they could all hear her. "Sky Knights and Squadrons of the Atmos." She addressed them. There were boos and angry shouts and threats from the Sky Knight Squadrons. They weren't here to talk! They were here to get back their friends!

Cyclonis waited patiently for the noise to die down again before saying "your friends are unharmed, as promised." As if to prove her point she snapped her fingers and eleven cages suspended by chains slid out on cables above their heads. Each one contained a kidnapped squadron member. Aerrow's eyes searched franticly for Radarr. In the cage directly above the Storm Hawks Radarr stuck his head through the bars with a happy yet still somewhat worried expression on his face. Aerrow let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "What do you want from us Cyclonis?" Harrier, the Sky Knight of the Rex Guardians shouted up to her, voicing what they had all been thinking. Cyclonis put her hand to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh that's right!" she cooed. "Did I mention that you must compete to free your friends? Only the top three winners can go free."

Talons, Raptors and Nightcrawlers surrounded them. They drew their weapons ready to fight but eleven Nightcrawlers flew to the cages and held the captives by their wrists. "Put down your weapons." Cyclonis commanded. "You're not going anywhere. Not while their lives hang in the balance." They lowered their weapons. "You must compete against one another to save your friends." Cyclonis explained. "This is a test for the Sky Knights." Piper, Finn, Stork and Junko looked at Aerrow but he never took his eyes off of the witch before them. Cyclonis held up a purple crystal. An image appeared above it of a green flag with the red Cyclonian symbol on it. "Take a good look Sky Knights." She continued. "This is was you must retrieve for me. You will race on foot to get it. Weapons are allowed. And in case you get any ideas think about your friends. If any of you try to escape or do not participate your member will instantly be killed. The first three squadrons to receive ten points will win."

The Nightcrawlers but their claws to the prisoner's necks. That settled it. Eleven Sky Knights lined up without their skimmers, but with their weapons. Aerrow thought this was crazy. What could Cyclonis possibly hope to gain from this? But there was no time to think about it more before Cyclonis added "oh and I'll be sending one of my Talons to join in the little contests." The Sky Knights and watching squadrons gasped as the Dark Ace joined the line. Right next to Aerrow. The Dark Ace gave Aerrow a smirk while Aerrow returned it with a glare.

"Go!" Cyclonis called and they started running. To Aerrow this was ridicules. Why would they need their weapons? There was no way they would fight fellow Sky Knights! But then again there was always the Dark Ace to deal with. A Talon dropped from a tree right in front of Blister and knocked him over. Okay so maybe that was why they needed their weapons. Aerrow would've stopped to help Blister but the Dark Ace had other plans. He grabbed Aerrow's wrist and pulled him to the ground. The young Sky Knight was sent sprawling. Since when was the Dark Ace so strong? Aerrow didn't stay done long. He glared up at the Dark Ace who simply smirked at him. Aerrow smiled and the Dark Ace looked confused for a minute before Aerrow kicked at the Talon commander's feet knocking him to the ground.

Aerrow didn't waist anymore time before jumping to his feet and sprinting away. Triton of the Neck Deeps was surrounded by Talons. Aerrow looked ahead of him. He could just see the flag in the distance. He sighed. "I'm sorry Radarr." He whispered before turning around, blades drawn. He fired blue energy charges at the Talons knocking a few off their feet. One who he recognized as Commander Chicken Feathers confronted Aerrow with a confident smile on his face. Aerrow returned it before shutting his blades down. Chicken Feathers looked at him like he was crazy and charged him. Aerrow, using his superior youth and agility sprang into the air, flipped upside down and pushing off of Chicken Feather's shoulders he landed in a crouch with his eyes closed as Chicken Feathers was sent tumbling head over heels. Aerrow waited as Cyclonians gathered around him before turning his blades back on, snapping his eyes open. He jumped into the air again and performed the Lighting Claw.

He helped Triton to his feet. "Thank you lad." He said. Aerrow smiled but as he watched Suzie-Lu claim the flag he felt guilt twist his insides. "And the point goes to the Absolute Zeroes!" a Talon called. Aerrow noticed that the Talon was standing where Master Cyclonis had been. Where had she gone? He narrowed his eyes. This couldn't be good. As the Sky Knights rejoined their squadrons Aerrow was instantly confronted by his team mates patting him on the back and telling him it was okay that he hadn't won the event but he wasn't too worried about that. "We'll win the next event." Piper said. "Have you noticed that Cyclonis is gone?" he asked trying to be straight forward. Piper nodded. "Where do you think she went?"

"No idea but I have a bad feeling about it." they muttered their agreement.

Master Cyclonis watched the Sky Knights until the Dark Ace knocked Aerrow off his feet before turning to gather her remaining forces. "Ravess, Snipe, come with me."

While the Sky Knights were distracted by her little games the Atmos was left unprotected. The perfect time for her to invade. And this time there would be no Storm Hawks to stop her.

**A/N: I had a lot of trouble trying not to make this chapter end up going like a modified version of the Hunger Games but all and all I think it turned out pretty well. What do you guys think? Please review! Oh and thank you to Bo-Janglz1297 for reviewing almost every chapter! I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Bye for now!**


	10. Chapter ten

Chapter ten

The next event was also for the Sky Knights except that this one could turn out to be a lot more lives threatening then the little game of capture the flag before. This time they had to retrieve a key from the other side of the Terra. The course was the most dangerous part. They had to pass through a forest that had been filled with bog howlers from Terra Gruesomess, make it through a living tar pit and a jungle of meat eating plants, climb a mountain made to be exactly like Storms Peak and finally they had to get through a angry hoard of saber-spiders with poisonous skin.

The Sky Knights lined up again including the Dark Ace, much to Aerrow's annoyance. The Talon shouted for them to go and once again they started running. Aerrow could hear the bog howlers before he actually saw them and for that he was thankful. If he hadn't known that the beasts were coming he wouldn't have had enough time to draw his blades. The bog howler pounced at him and he was pushed to the ground by its massive paws. The wind was knocked out of the young Sky Knight and he couldn't breathe with the weight on his chest. Before blackness took over his vision completely from lack of air he managed to drive one of his blades into the monster's leg. It bellowed in pain and let him up, limping around. Aerrow climbed to his feet gasping and trying to catch his breath.

He hurried past the bog howler and luckily it didn't pursue him, finding the Talon that had just appeared to stop Aerrow more interesting. "Okay, next stop the living tar pit." Aerrow muttered to himself as he ran. When he got there Harrier, Suzie-Lu and Tasha of the Screaming Queens were already under attack by the living tar. Aerrow hurried to help them. Remembering the living tar he and the other Storm Hawks had encountered in the Black Gorge Aerrow called "confuse it! If we can confuse it, then we can get past it!" Tasha had already been grabbed be it though. She was struggling strongly but the living tar seemed completely unfazed. Harrier and Suzie-Lu heard and understood. Suzie-Lu ran to its left banging her crystal staff against her shoulder plate, drawing the monster's attention. It turned on the Blizzarian, still holding onto Tasha, even though it didn't seem to remember she was there. Harrier ran to its right, waving his Solaris Crystal powered sword to draw its attention over to him.

Aerrow ran at it from the front yelling and taunting it to look at him instead of the other Sky Knights. "Hey ugly!" he called, "over here!" Suzie-Lu joined in. "No over here!" she cried. The monster turned its head to her before Harrier shouted "over here you barbaric piece of scum!" the monster was starting to look confused, showing them that their plan was working.

It went cross eyed and dropped Tasha who landed nimbly in a crouch; summer salted and came up on her feet. The four Sky Knights exchanged glances before the living tar roared angrily. They didn't stick around any longer. They took off in different directions. Onwards to the jungle of meat eating plants.

Aerrow had a hard time as soon as he entered the jungle. He was sprinting and hearing a sound behind him; he glanced back over his shoulder and tripped over the root of a meat eating plant. Great. It wrapped its root around his ankle, holding him so tightly he was already starting to lose feeling in his ankle. He pulled out his blades but the plant was smarter then it looked. Okay, that was a weird thought. Smart plants? _I'm going crazy._ Aerrow thought, shaking his head to clear it. The plant knocked the blades out of his hands with another of its roots. They skidded far out of the fourteen year old's reach. He cursed under his breath and glared up at the plant that was about to kill him.

As its grip tightened around his ankle Aerrow winced and had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. There was a painful crack and he realized it had come from his ankle. Aerrow grunted and struggled even harder. The plant wove its roots around his arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. "Aerrow!" someone called. He looked up at his name as someone raced past him, grabbing onto his arm while she did so. Somehow she managed to pull him free and the two of them stumbled along, Aerrow bending down to retrieve his weapons. They ran out of the jungle together and the whole time Aerrow couldn't tell who it was that had saved him because of the pain radiating from his leg.

As soon as they were out the young woman slowed her pace. Aerrow's knees buckled but she caught him and helped him sit down. She knelt down beside him. Then and only then could he make out a head of familiar purple hair and a face with olive green eyes filled with concern. "Starling." He said weakly. She gripped his hand and gave him a tight smile. "But what're you doing here?" he asked her, struggling to stay focused. "You don't have a squadron." She smiled, a real smile this time. "I do today."

Aerrow smiled. Starling never failed to amaze him. She had heard about what had happened to the Sky Knight Squadrons and had wanted to help. Starling was a Sky Knight but she had lost her own squadron to the hands of the raptors. The Storm Hawks had offered her a home aboard the Condor with them several times but she had never accepted. Sky Knights and their stubbornness. "Can you keep going?" she asked. Aerrow winced as his ankle flared with pain and realized that it wasn't just his ankle that was damaged but his whole left leg up to the knee. He took a deep breath before saying "yeah." Starling, knowing that Sky Knight's would always tell you they were okay no matter what happened, let him get to his feet with her help.

He winced again as he put pressure on his injured leg but Starling noted how good he was at making it look like he wasn't in any pain at all. In fact if she hadn't known that he was hurt then she probably would have never known. She helped him to the base of Storms Peak Mountain. He looked up at it and Starling noticed the tiredness in his eyes. Starling could also see what seemed to be old tear tracks along his cheeks from crying. Since when had Aerrow _cried_? And that led to the Sky Knight wondering just how much he was holding back. "Ready?" he asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Are you sure you can do this with your leg?" she asked. He shrugged. "We'll never know if we don't get started." Starling had to smile. With this fourteen year old Sky Knight's stubborn will and determination it was hard not to.

As they began their climb Starling sent Aerrow a look. He was clearly struggling but he kept a brave face on and she knew why. He was doing this for Radarr. Aerrow was so loyal to his friends that he was climbing a mountain with a broken leg. But one thing was for sure, Starling realized. It was hard to see the pain behind the mask.

**A/N: do not worry people! This is not the end of the story I promise! I don't really have a lot to say right now…. does anybody find my story dramatic? Well if you don't I promise you I have something very drama and tear filled planned for the next few chapters. And if you don't feel sorry for Aerrow yet then you will once I post the next few chapters! Please review! Bye for now!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven

"Starling, duck!" Aerrow yelled. Starling rolled out of the way of the saber-spider's fangs just in time. She came to stand beside Aerrow. "Thanks." She said. He might have said something but another saber-spider sprang at him. He blocked its attack with his blades but the force of it made him stumble. He fell as his leg was put under pressure but he didn't stay down long. Climbing Storms Peak had been a nightmare but at least they had done it. The saber-spiders were another story. Aerrow was getting really frustrated with Cyclonis. He was trying to ignore the pain in his leg, help Starling fight off poisonous saber-spiders and figure out what Master Cyclonis was planning all at the same time.

He fired a few blasts of blue energy at a group of spiders and they fell to the ground dead, their bodies smoking slightly. Aerrow hated killing things but there wasn't much choice. He made himself feel better about it by telling himself that it wasn't his fault but Master Cyclonis's. "Watch out!" he heard Starling call. He looked up just in time to see Starling smack a saber-spider that had been lunging at him across the face with her nun-chucks. "Thanks." He panted. She gave him a smile before turning to finish off some other saber-spiders. Watching her fight, Aerrow had to say that he felt sorry for the saber-spiders. They didn't stand a chance.

After a while though both Sky Knights were starting to tire which was a sure sign it was time to finish this. Both Aerrow and Starling performed their special moves. Unlike Aerrow's Lighting Claw, Starling's move shrouded her in a purple aura and had a lot more jumping involved. When they were done there were only about six saber-spiders left and they just left them. Together they ran as fast as they could (under the circumstances that wasn't very fast) to the key. A group of Talons appeared out of nowhere to stop them. "Go!" Starling commanded. "Get the key. I'll hold them off." Aerrow could only nod and pick up his pace once again. A Talon tried to stop him but he just pushed him out of his way and kept running, or limping, towards the key.

From the starting line the squadrons were watching in intense silence. "Come on Aerrow." Piper whispered to herself as she watched her Sky Knight. "Come on." They had all been surprised when Starling had shown up but by now they had learned that when something good happens then don't question it. Just go with it.

Aerrow made his way back to the starting line, leaning heavily on Starling with the key clutched in his hand. He was breathing hard but he didn't care.

"The point goes to the Storm Hawks!" the Talon, standing where Master Cyclonis had been standing announced. Finn and Junko took Aerrow from Starling. Stork smiled, which was a rare occurrence to say the least and Piper hugged him. "You did it!" she said happily. He just hugged her back, glad that it was over. When Piper finally let him go he turned back to Starling. "Thanks for being here Starling." He said. She smiled. "Of course." Finn and Junko guided Aerrow back to his skimmer so he could sit down. "What happened to your leg?" Finn asked. Aerrow really didn't feel like answering and luckily he didn't have to because the Talon said "the next event-" but he was cut off by another Talon calling him over and whispering something in his ear.

"What do you think that's about?" Stork asked. No one had an answer for him. The Talons went inside leaving the squadrons to wonder what was happening. That's when it dawned on him. "Of course…" Aerrow muttered. His eyes widened and he got up, limping to the starting line so all eleven of the squadrons could see him. The other Storm Hawks came to stand next to him, having all come to the same conclusion. "Squadrons!" he called, hoping that they could all hear him. Luckily he seemed to be getting their attention. "Don't you see?" he continued. "She's just playing with us! While we're here, she's out there invading the Atmos while it's left unprotected!" the Nightcrawlers holding the prisoners had flown away. A sure sign that something was going on.

There was muttering among the crowd and much shaking of the heads. Aerrow looked down. Of course they wouldn't listen to him. They never had and they probably never would. Luckily for him, he had Starling with him. Everybody listened to Starling. She put a hand on the younger Sky Knight's shoulder. "Aerrow's right." She said, catching everyone's attention. "Well where do you think Cyclonis is?" she insisted. "And the Nightcrawlers and most of the Talons as well! Don't be so blind! We can still get out of here with our squadrons complete! But if we wait any longer then it could be too late for the rest of the Atmos!"

Triton of the Neck Deeps stood up so they could all see him. "Aye, listen to the lass! The Neck Deeps will help you." All of the Storm Hawks and Starling smiled. Okay so maybe this was actually going to go well for once. Suzie-Lu spoke up for the Absolute Zeroes, then Tasha of the Screaming Queens, Mathew of the Red Eagles and eventually all of the Sky Knights were speaking up for their squadrons.

They spread out to free their friends and by the time the remaining Talons and Nightcrawlers had figured out that their top secret plan wasn't quite so top secret anymore, it was too late. They had to face off against eleven very annoyed Sky Knight Squadrons. All now reunited with their friends. Needless to say the fight lasted about five minutes.

Aerrow stood before the squadrons again. "There's still a massive invasion happening right now! Cyclonis will most likely head for Terra Nimbus first. It's the closest Terra to Cyclonia. If we can keep them off of that Terra and drive them back to Cyclonia then we might actually be able to stop them." For some reason the squadrons were actually starting to listen to him. Radarr scampered up Aerrow's shoulder as the squadrons headed back to their ships and skimmers. "Good to have you back buddy." Aerrow said, taking Radarr off his shoulder and giving him a hug. Radarr chirped his happiness and rubbed his head against his boy's cheek.

The fourteen year old placed the sky monkey back on his shoulder. "Do you want some help Aerrow?" Junko asked as they headed back for the Condor, seeing how the Sky Knight was still limping badly. "I'm okay." Aerrow said, giving his friend a weak smile. They sat around the table in the bridge. "I've contacted Rinjiin." Piper said, sitting down in-between Aerrow and Stork. "He said he'd help us. We could defenatly use his dragon ship."

"He's not going to bring the baby dragons into this, is he?" Finn asked. Piper rolled her eyes. "No. but his ship would be helpful. I've also talked to the kids from the Talon Academy and the Wallops from B.A.R.F." Finn snickered and Junko glared at him. "They all agreed to help." Aerrow smiled. A fake one this time. "Good job Piper. We should be ready to start the attack as soon as we reach Nimbus." They all wandered off to do their respective jobs, but Piper stayed with Aerrow and Radarr. "Aerrow, if you're planning on fighting today then you better do something about your leg." At his look Piper felt herself getting annoyed. "You know that it's okay to accept help every once in a while right? You're always so stubborn!" Aerrow couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. "Piper, I'll be okay-"but she wasn't listening to anything he had to say. "Stop being so freaking difficult already! We're your friends! What are you hiding from us?" she was starting to look and sound desperate. Her eyes were tearing up as if she could see how much pain and sadness Aerrow really did have inside of him.

She reached out a hand as if to touch his face but withdrew it. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just….don't do anything stupid…okay?" Aerrow gave her his best attempt at a smile. "Hey, it's me. I'm always okay."

He made his way to his room on Piper's insistence that he rest for a few minutes. He sat down on his bed and rubbed his eyes. Radarr hurried in with a first aid kit clutched tightly in his paws. "Thanks Radarr." Aerrow said. Radarr helped him bandage an instant ice pack to his leg and splinted it as well. He would have to take the splint off when the fight started but hopefully it would help for now. Aerrow and Radarr sat together, looking out the window. Nothing could ever separate them again.

**A/N: I know, my endings are getting worse and worse! Once again I'm running out of ideas! Some suggestions would be nice! Now I'm going to make a long list of people I want to thank again. Here we go: thank you to OneForSorrow333, art chic 99, cocosnowlo, Bo-Janglz1297, StormTalon1997, AerrowsWifeFinnsSister, FoodAndWifi and DarkWin (times symbol) Girl. Thank you all so much and please don't stop reading! Please review. Oh and just a warning, after they get past the whole invasion thing the chapter will contain a lot of tears from every member of the Storm Hawks. You have been warned! Bye for now!**


	12. Chapter twelve

Chapter twelve

They were winning the battle against Master Cyclonis's invasion force. Everyone did their part and now all they had left to do was drive them back into Cyclonian territory. It turned out to be a lot easier said than done. They were all holding their own pretty well until a fresh wave of Nightcrawlers attacked. Thanks to Rinjiin's dragon ship they were doing pretty well. Master Cyclonis had joined the fight as well though which defenatly wasn't good. Aerrow looked down and saw something that scared him so much he almost fell off his skimmer. Piper and Master Cyclonis were fighting on the small Terra below them. From his skimmer Aerrow could see what Piper couldn't. Cyclonis was backing her into a small building.

At first Aerrow had no idea why but he knew it couldn't possibly be good. He flew toward her, hoping that he could reach her in time. Radarr was getting ready to retract the wings and go into bike mode. But as they neared the Terra, Master Cyclonis already had Piper backed into the door way. "Now!" Cyclonis cried and shoved the Crystal Mage into the building before diving out of the way just as a Talon pressed a button and the building caught fire. "No!" Aerrow cried, going into bike form and speeding toward the building. Master Cyclonis was already making her getaway and he didn't stop her. Ignoring Radarr's squawks Aerrow jumped off of his skimmer as soon as they stopped moving and ran into the burning building. "Piper!" he called desperately. "Piper! Please! Where are you?" there was no answer. Aerrow could hardly see because of the smoke and it was getting hard to breathe but he didn't give up. A beam creaked and fell in front of him, showering him in sparks. None of them caught fire though so he kept searching.

"Piper!" the sounds of the battle outside were dying down so Aerrow assumed Cyclonis had called the retreat after she had disposed of Piper. Aerrow started coughing. His red hair was stained with soot that covered his whole body. More beams began to fall and still there was no sign of Piper. "Piper!" he called again but it came out quietly and he had to break off to start coughing. The smoke was so thick it was like trying to see out of a window covered in cement. "Piper please!" he cried falling to his knees coughing. "Please…." But of course there was no answer.

Junko smashed down one of the walls with his knuckle-busters. Finn, Radarr and Junko hurried into the burning building to Aerrow's side. Junko picked him up and they ran back outside again. "Junko…." Aerrow panted. "Piper….she's still in there…" Finn ran alongside Aerrow with Radarr on his shoulder. "Aerrow…if she was then…." That's when Aerrow started to tune the sharpshooter out. He didn't want to hear that Piper was gone. He coughed again painfully. "It'll be okay." Junko tried to reassure but the wallop was already crying and his big tears were falling gently on Aerrow's dirty face. Aerrow closed his eyes and let darkness over take him.

Finn was trying hard not to cry as they ran to where the Condor was landing. Piper was gone? He refused to believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Sure they got on each other's nerves all the time but that didn't mean that they cared about each other any less. Finn and Piper had always been like brother and sister. And now she was gone. Junko was already in tears and Radarr was howling softly in despair. Aerrow was coughing but he wasn't crying even though he looked like he wanted to. Finn was worried when the Sky Knight closed his eyes, but the steady rise and fall of his chest assured him that he was still alive.

When Aerrow opened his eyes he instantly wished that he hadn't. The memories of what had happened washed over him in a huge wave of grief. Piper was gone. There wouldn't even be a body. Aerrow sat up and realized that he had been laying on his bed in his room onboard the Condor. Radarr wasn't in the room but right then Aerrow was glad to be alone. He put his head in his hands and cried. He let all of the emotions flood out. Sitting here, alone in his room with no one else around he was wasn't afraid to cry. He hadn't cried this much in years. Not even when Radarr had been kidnapped. _Yeah,_ Aerrow thought. _Because you knew you could save him. It's too late for Piper. You failed her. You failed all of them._ Aerrow squeezed his eyes shut as voices upon voices washed over him.

"_You're the last descendant of Lighting Strike! Aerrow, you're a Sky Knight!" _

"_It smells like chickens in here!"_

"_That's because we're in a chicken coop Finn!"_

"_Just a second! It doesn't have a full charge yet!"_

"_On second thought, that's enough!"_

"_Finn can be in charge."_

"_Maybe when he realizes how much work it is, he'll stop asking."_

"_A whole year of Finn doing all the cleaning? That's gonna be one dirty cruiser!"_

"_No thanks. I'm quitting."_

"_Okay, I'll stay."_

"_It's beautiful. Wish I could rub it in Domiwick's face!"_

"_You fight like a girl!"_

"_I'm so sorry Piper."_

"_Be sorry later!"_

"_What if it's wrong?!"_

"_Piper! I trust you."_

The voices belonged to Finn, Princess Peregrine and Aerrow, but mainly it was Piper's. And that's what hurt the most. He was never going to hear Piper's voice again. Aerrow opened his eyes and clenched his fists. This was Master Cyclonis's fault. If it wasn't for that little….then Piper would still be here. Aerrow wiped his eyes and headed to the bridge.

"Hey Aerrow." Junko said tearfully from his place on the couch. The big guy had obviously been crying and was currently hugging a teddy bear. Finn stood off to the side, staring out the window. Aerrow tried to make it to where Junko was but his leg had started to hurt again and on the third step it finally gave out. He fell but Finn was there in an instant. The sharpshooter caught the Sky Knight and helped him over to the couch. "Thanks." Aerrow panted. Finn just sat down next to him. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and Junko had started down right bawling. Stork stood at the controls, his shoulders shaking. Radarr whimpered and sniffed. "Are you okay?" Finn asked. Aerrow had no idea why _he_ was being asked this question. He was the only one not crying even though he wanted to. "I…I just can't believe it really happened." He said at last. And with that sentence he realized just how horrible it was. He buried his face in his hands and his shoulders slumped. "If I had just gotten there in time…" Radarr hugged Aerrow's arm.

Stork turned away from the controls and came to stand in front of Aerrow. "Aerrow." He said. "Listen to me. This is not your fault and you know Piper would never want you to blame yourself. What happened to her was Master Cyclonis's fault. No one else's." all four of them stared at Stork for a minute with wide eyes. "What?" Stork asked defensively. "I can't be sentimental when I want to be?" Aerrow felt tears start to run down his cheeks again and this time he let them come. Junko dropped his bear and wrapped Aerrow, Finn, Radarr and Stork into a bone crushing group hug. Not even Stork seemed to care about the close proximity this time.

And there, on the bridge of the Condor the five remaining Storm Hawks, the youngest squadron ever to register, led by the youngest Sky Knight ever to register, flying through the air to somewhere they could be away from the war for a while, held each other and cried.

And on a Terra a few miles behind them, a girl, with midnight blue hair and dark skin opened her startling orange eyes.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Ha! I bet you guys actually thought that I was going to kill off Piper! No. I' known amongst my friends for the fact that I can't kill off people in stories. It's so hard! And I like Piper just fine. I'm not going to kill her or anyone else. Maybe. Normally I would've given them like five minutes in-between sad thing but I decided to be mean. Oh and to address a review for an earlier chapter, the reason why I chose Radarr to be kidnapped by the Nightcrawlers was because Master Cyclonis didn't care who from each squadron was taken and Radarr would've been the easiest target because he's small and light. Plus it added a little more drama to Aerrow's life and I'm just that mean. Anyways please review! Bye for now!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

Aerrow leaned against the railing on the deck of the Condor. Not even Radarr was with him this time. All five of them were kind of radiating negative energy at this point. It had been three days since they had lost Piper and three days since anyone aboard the Condor had spoken or smiled. "I miss you." Aerrow said to the sky quietly, hoping that wherever Piper was she would hear him. "I'm so sorry that I didn't get there in time…" tears were starting to pour down his cheeks again but he didn't care. "If I had only been faster then maybe…. Then maybe…." He was crying to hard now to finish but he forced himself to. "Then maybe you would still be here. We're all lost without you." He laughed softly. "Litterly. None of us can read maps like you could. We need you Piper. I need you. I love you."

He stayed like that for a few more minutes before wiping his tears away and turning away from the railing to head back inside.

Piper could just see the Condor on the horizon. She pushed the controls of her beat up heliscooter so she would go as fast as possible. When Piper had realized that she was in danger in the burning building she had used a combination of warp crystals and shielding crystals. It hadn't worked exactly the way she had intended, instead of sending her back to the Condor it had sent her to Terra Neverlandis. How her heliscooter had ended up there with her, she had no idea but she wasn't about to argue. "Come on." She muttered. "Come on."

Aerrow turned slightly when he thought he heard the sound of Piper's heliscooter but stopped himself. "Stop it." he told himself. "She's gone." but he couldn't walk away without knowing for sure. That's when he heard a voice he thought he would never hear again. "Aerrow!" Piper called. Her voice was quiet because she was still fairly far away but the young Sky Knight heard it anyways. He whipped around just as Piper landed her heliscooter and ran toward him. Aerrow stayed rigid in shock as his friend ran towards him. As soon as she wrapped her arms around him though he snapped out of her and hugged her back tightly as if he was afraid that if he let her go now she would vanish forever.

"Piper!" he cried. "We thought you were dead! What….? How?" she didn't answer but hugged him tighter as they both cried. "I'll explain later." She said. "I don't care." He told her. "I'm just glad you're here." When they finally broke apart they still held each other's hands not wanting to let go. "Are you okay?" he asked. Piper nodded and sniffed, putting on a relived smile. Aerrow returned it with an identical one. A real one. "The others will want to know." Aerrow said. Together the two Storm Hawks headed back inside.

As soon as they stepped inside Junko grabbed Piper and Aerrow and pulled them into a hug. Finn joined in along with Radarr. Stork dropped what he was working on and stood there in shock staring at them before giving up on whatever ridicules theory he had been thinking up to explain why Piper was still alive and came over to hug her as well.

That night, for the first time in three days six Storm Hawks stayed up together. They were finally together again just like they always would be. And that night Master Cyclonis got some very interesting news that she was not happy to hear. The Storm Hawks had won again.

**A/N: I kind of feel like we're getting closer and closer to the end of the story here. I mean I would gladly continue writing this but if you guys think that this would be a good place for me to stop then feel free to tell me. But if you want me to keep going then I'd be happy to. Tell me what you want and I'll do my best to do it. Please review! Bye for now!**


	14. Chapter fourteen

Chapter fourteen

**A/N: you guys haven't really told me if you think I should keep up this story or not yet so I just decided to keep going and you're just going to have to live with it! At least for a few more chapters anyways. On with the chapter!**

Piper was back, the Storm Hawks were back in business and everything was right with the world again! At least until Finn and Aerrow went out on their skimmers to scout the remote Terra they had landed on. They were flying over a huge stretch of water. It was murky and dark and neither one of them wanted to know what lurked in its depths. But of course, they were going to find out. A long blue tentacle stretched out of the water and towards Finn's skimmer. Neither of them saw it coming in time. It wrapped around the skimmer and started to pull it toward the water. "Aerrow!" Finn cried, his voice filled with fear as he struggled to pull his legs free from the tentacle. "Help!" Aerrow's eyes widened but he came after his friend.

Aerrow would've tried firing at the tentacle but he might hit Finn so he didn't. "Take my hand!" he called, reaching as far as he could. He wished he hadn't left Radarr behind on the Condor with Junko to do repairs. The tentacle pulled Finn under and Aerrow could only watch in horror. "Finn!" Aerrow cried even though he knew it wouldn't help. There was no time to go back for help. Making a split second decision Aerrow sent his skimmer flying away from him so it would land on the shore and dove into the water. Now, Aerrow wasn't very fond of water. The whole incident on Terra Aquanos had kind of put him off swimming, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He gritted his teeth as he swam deeper and deeper. He had his energy blades with him witch he was glad for. As he drew closer he pulled out one of his blades and tried to see through the gloom. By the dim light of his blade he saw one of the most terrifying monsters he had ever seen and he had seen quite a few in his time. A huge octopus like creature with what must have been at least fifty long tentacles and when it opened its beak, he saw rows upon rows of pointed fangs. Beady red eyes glared at him. Finn was held in one of its many tentacles. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.

Aerrow narrowed his eyes and swam closer, determined to save his friend. He thought back to that time on Aquanos when he had stayed at the bottom of the lake without a breather to save both Piper and the Condor. He tried to envision that situation. He charged the creature which wasn't easy underwater. Luckily for him the monster didn't seem to be very intelligent. Aerrow drew his other blade and waved it in front of the monster's face. Its eyes followed the glowing blue object and when he was sure he had its attention the young Sky Knight pushed the blade away from him and watched as it sank. The creature sent several tentacles after it leaving the tentacle holding Finn unguarded. Aerrow tried to free Finn but he was wrapped up tightly. He stabbed the tentacle with his remaining blade, trying to get it to loosen. He was just starting to get Finn free when another tentacle snuck up behind him and wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides.

It squeezed Aerrow painfully. The monster had grown tired of the energy blade and was angry. It squeezed Aerrow so hard he was sure he heard something in his chest crack. Aerrow knew he needed to get back to the surface before he drowned, he couldn't hold his breath forever. And neither could Finn. With the little remaining strength he had left, Aerrow stabbed the tentacle with his blade. The monster let out a deafening shriek and let him go. Without wasting any more time then he had to, Aerrow swam towards Finn and freed him from his tentacle as well. Aerrow swam to the surface, pulling Finn along with him.

When his head broke the surface Aerrow instantly started coughing and trying to breathe. Finn's eyes were still closed so he pulled the sharpshooter all the way to shore. As soon as they hit the shore Finn's eyes opened and he began coughing up water. Aerrow barely registered it though. He lay on the ground struggling to breathe. His chest throbbed and he was sure he had broken a rib. He closed his eyes and took deep pained breaths.

"Thanks." Finn gasped. Aerrow cracked his eyes open and pushed himself up on his elbows. He saw his skimmer nearby and funnily enough both of his energy blades had washed up on shore a few feet away from them. "You okay?" Aerrow asked. Finn gave him a weak smile. "Been better." Aerrow coughed painfully before saying "me too." Finn managed to climb to his feet and offered his leader his hand. Aerrow took it and Finn helped him to his feet. Aerrow pressed his arm to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut as the world span. "Wow, you okay dude?" Finn asked as he steadied his friend. "Maybe not." Aerrow admitted.

Finn helped him over to his skimmer, picking up his blades on the way and drove in bike form back to the Condor.

After Finn had explained what had happened and they had gotten Aerrow bandaged up the other Storm Hawks called a meeting on the bridge while Aerrow was in his room resting. There, Radarr told them the best he could about Aerrow. He told them about Aerrow being sick with a fever and not telling any of them about it, he told them about how much doubt Aerrow had, had in himself, he told them about Aerrow being exhausted and scared and still putting on a brave face for the rest of his team, he told them about how he and Aerrow had stayed up all night together reading the journal entries Aerrow's father had written, he told them how scared for his friends Aerrow had been on Terra Blizzaris and how much his leg had been hurting him. Radarr did his best to let his friends know just how much pain and sadness their leader had kept from to help them and save them.

They decided that as soon as Aerrow woke up, they were going to do the only thing they could. They were going to let him know he wasn't alone. They were going to let him know that they were his family.

**A/N: Ta da! This is, sadly the second to last chapter in this story. The next one will be the last. It's going to be really weird not writing anymore of this but all stories come to an end right? Right? Someone say right! Anyways I would be really grateful if you guys would keep reviewing for my stories and if you guys would check out some of my other stories that would be great! If you guys really liked this story then I'd be more than happy to write another one like it for you. This chapter is my Christmas present to all of you. I hope you like it! Please review! Bye for now! And Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

**A/N: last chapter ladies and gentlemen! This is by far the worst part of writing a story. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I just want to thank all of you again for the constant reviews and support. I wouldn't be writing this if it wasn't for all of you. Thank you.**

When Aerrow came out of his room the other Storm Hawks told him that they needed to talk. They apologized for not realizing what he was going through and for not being there for him. They talked and talked about how they'd make it up to him and about how sorry they were but he didn't want to hear any of it. Eventually he put up his hands in a silencing gesture. "Guys." He said, looking at each of them in turn. "You don't need to apologize." Piper opened her mouth to interject but Aerrow cut her off. "No Piper." He looked into Piper's eyes and said "Piper, you've always been there for me. You're my second in command and one of my closest friends. You've always done so much for all of us and I've never known anyone who could stand against Master Cyclonis for as long as you have." He laughed softly and added "or who could keep Finn in check."

"Hey!" Finn protested indignantly but they all just laughed. Aerrow looked at Finn. "Finn, you're the best sharpshooter in the Atmos and I'm lucky to have you as my wingman. You can always make us smile no matter what happens and nothing's ever boring with you around." Finn smiled proudly at his leader's praise and Aerrow looked to Stork. "Stork, your insane paranoia towards pretty much everything has gotten us out of a lot of tough places. You take great care of the Condor and I'm glad you agreed to be our carrier pilot." He turned to Junko. "Junko, you're one of the greatest flight mechanics I've ever seen and when one of us is in danger you're always the first one to the scene."

Finally Aerrow turned to face Radarr. "And Radarr, you've been my best friend for years and you always will be. Without you I probably wouldn't be here today. You're the best friends and co-pilot anyone could ever ask for." Radarr sniffed and his eyes were watery. The sky monkey lunged forward and clung to his boy with all his might. Aerrow hugged him back with one arm and opened the other arm, an invitation for anyone else to join in the hug. So of course they did.

"Thank you." Aerrow said quietly from the center of the hug. They broke apart and Piper took Aerrow's hand in her's. "Thank you." She said. "Aerrow, you've always done so much for us and the people of the Atmos. You've sacrificed a lot and had to push your own emotions and pains away to help us with ours first. You're the best friend and the best Sky Knight any of us could ever hope for." And with that, she leaned forward and kissed him. Finn watched and tried not to laugh, Junko tried not to cry and Stork looked kind of grossed out. Radarr blushed and turned away. They pulled apart and Aerrow looked surprised. "What was that for?" he asked. Piper smiled. "Everything."

But of course being the Storm Hawks, the moment didn't last. A distress signal blared on the control panel and they jumped at the sudden sound. Stork hurried over to the controls and called back over his shoulder. "We've got Cyclonian activity going on near Terra Atmosia!" they exchanged glances before all six of them broke out into smiles and ran out the door to collect armor and weapons.

But for the first time in a long time, they did it together.

**A/N: that's all folks! I cannot believe that it's actually over! Oh my gods. This fanfiction has been the focus of my time since the first chapter months ago! Now with fifteen chapters it's over. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this story again. So thank you so much to OneForSorrow333, art chic 99, cocosnowlo, Bo-Janglz1297, StormTalon1997, Violin Cheng, Obsidiana Nevada, DarkWinxGirl, FoodAndWifi and AerrowsWifeFinnsSister! You guy are all so awesome and I hope you'll check out some of my other stories! Now that this one's over I'm starting a new fanfiction called Origin. I'm not going to tell you anymore about it so you'll have to take a look for yourselves! Thanks again and goodbye.**

**~ destinyowldreamer**


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